Cultural Relativism and Moral Action Assignment
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Chamberlain University College of Nursing *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
445N
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Jan 9, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
4
Uploaded by abbygayleblackwood
Cultural Relativism and Moral Action
Name: AbbyGayle Blackwood
Institutional Affiliation: Chamberlain University
Course: ETHC445N
Instructor: Eldar Sarajlic
Date: May 14
th
, 2023
Cultural Relativism and Moral Action
Working as a customer service representative for a clothing company, I came across a
Muslim lady wearing a hijab who came to the store topurchase a wedding dress for her daughter.
After making her selection, she paid for the dress. She refused to take the receipt for her
payments because it had a picture of a model wearing a short dress that conflicted with their
religious beliefs. I apologized and told her it was by the company’s policy for clients to be issued
with receipts. Still, she declined and requested that the information could be written down even
after telling her how that could get me in trouble as it was against the company policy. The
woman became perturbed and told me she would not compromise her religious beliefs. This
incident left me in the middle of respecting the woman’s religious and cultural beliefs or
adhering to the company rules. The problem I encountered was whether to respect the woman’s
religious beliefs and not issue her the receipt or strictly follow the company laws and give her the
receipt containing the model picture.
A subjective moral relativist will claim that an individual’s personal values and beliefs
determine the right approach and that there is no objective moral truth. In this scenario, the moral
relativist will advise respecting the woman’s religious and cultural beliefs even if they contradict
the company regulations (Tosam, 2020). The moral relativist’s perspective will be that the
woman’s cultural values should be respected and valid just as the company’s rules.
A cultural relativist would advise celebrating and acknowledging cultural diversity and
not suppressing it, thus arguing that the right approach is to respect the Muslim woman’s cultural
values.
Rachels & Rachels (2012)
argue that what is wrong or written is determined by a
society’s beliefs and practices and that cultural relativism is the approach that morality is relative
to cultures. Consequently, a cultural relativist would argue that the company’s set rules and
regulations should be imposed on her since they are not a part of her while advising on the need
to respect the woman’s cultural beliefs since they are a part of her.
I chose to honor the client’s cultural beliefs and wrote down the information with the
company’s official stamp, as requested by the woman. Even though I was working against the
company’s laws, I felt the importance of respecting her religious beliefs. This made her thank me
and left the store satisfied.
My decision was based on the principles of multiculturalism and cultural diversity to
break the company rules. As Grzymala-Kazlowska and Phillimore (2018) noted, individuals
should be allowed to freely express their cultural practices and values without discrimination but
instead, celebrate them. Therefore, respecting the Muslim woman’s cultural values, I was
exercising tolerance and understanding and upholding the principles of cultural diversity.
In this incident, the objective moral truth is respecting Muslim women’s cultural beliefs.
In chapter two of the book, the author argues that cultural beliefs and practices are morally right
despite the harm they could cause to society. However, it is important to respect some universal
moral principles like giving individuals rights to freedom of religion and respecting human
dignity (Danso, 2018). Hence, it was right to respect a woman’s religious beliefs, which is a
moral objective, rather than subjecting her to the company’s advertising policies that contradict
her culture.
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
References
Danso, R. (2018). Cultural competence and cultural humility: A critical reflection on key cultural
diversity concepts. Journal of Social Work, 18(4), 410-430.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1468017316654341?journalCode=jswa
Grzymala-Kazlowska, A., & Phillimore, J. (2018). Introduction: rethinking integration. New
perspectives on adaptation and settlement in the era of super-diversity. Journal of Ethnic
and Migration Studies, 44(2), 179-
196.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1341706
Rachels, S., & Rachels, J. (2019).
The elements of moral philosophy
(9th ed.). McGraw-Hill
Education.
Tosam, M. J. (2020). Global bioethics and respect for cultural diversity: how do we avoid moral
relativism and moral imperialism?. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 23, 611-
620.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11019-020-09972-1